A California woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Los Angeles airport police and the city of Los Angeles after allegedly getting arrested at an airport and put in jail for 13 days. She alleges that police mistook her for someone else with the same name.
Bethany K. Farber said she was at the Los Angeles International Airport on Apr. 14, 2021, waiting for a flight bound to Mexico when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) took her to a private room, according to NBC News. After spending two hours waiting, Farber said she was informed that there was a warrant out for her arrest in Texas. (RELATED: Jeffrey ‘R.’ Epstein, A Disney Executive, Receives Threats In Case Of Mistaken Identity)
California woman jailed 13 days in case of mistaken identity: lawsuit https://t.co/3waBuIsJf9 pic.twitter.com/lQAbn0YwrS
— New York Post (@nypost) February 23, 2022
Farber’s lawsuit states that she “informed the TSA officers who prevented her from boarding her flight that she had never been to Texas, and she certainly was not wanted for any crime there,” according to NBC News. Los Angeles police arrived at the airport and arrested Farber without verifying her identity, the lawsuit states.
Farber was booked at Lynwood Women’s Jail and she was held in custody for 13 days, according to NBC News. Farber’s lawsuit alleges the imprisonment was avoidable, stating that “by looking at a picture of Plaintiff and a picture of the other Bethany Farber, City Defendant’s would have realized Plaintiff should not have been arrested at all.”
During Farber’s imprisonment, her grandmother suffered a stroke caused by stress, which led to her death soon after Farber was freed, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Farber suffered unduly while in jail, stating that she was forced to share toilet paper and was forced to use hot food to keep herself warm. Farber added that she witnessed other inmates smearing feces on the jail’s walls.
Farber’s lawsuit additionally states that she was imprisoned for three days after the state of Texas confirmed that the wrong Bethany Farber had been arrested, according to the New York Post.
“This was an experience that no one should go through, especially a law-abiding citizen,” Farber said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “You know this is why we have our [constitutional] amendments in place to protect us. We shouldn’t be fearing law enforcement,” she continued, the outlet reported.